Water, shock and dustproof watchcase



Dec. 20, 1955 P. ocHs WATER, SHOCK AND DUSTPROOF WATCHCASE Filed Sept. 23, 1952 FIG.

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United ties 2,727,354 Patented Dec. 20, 1%55 WATER, SHOCK AND DUSTPROOF WATCHCASE Pirmin Ochs, Pforzheim, Germany, assignor to Rodi & Wienenberger Aktiengesellschaft, Pforzheiin, Germany, a firm Application September 23, 1952, Serial No. 311,627 1 Claim. (Cl. 58-88) The present invention relates to a watch case, and more particularly to a waterproof, shockproof, and dustproof watch case.

Waterproof and dustproof watch cases have become widely known. They consist of an outer case, ring, in the upper portion of which is provided a bezel contracted about the marginal portion of the crystal so that, consequently, the watch-movement has to be put in said watch case from below and is supported thereby against the back by means of a carrying ring.

This structure is not satisfactory and it is, therefore, the object of the present invention to remove its various disadvantages.

According to the invention this result is obtained by elastically securing the movement of a watch in the upper part of a watch case. A ring carrying the movement is provided with an outwardly projecting circumferential flange which tightly fits into a corresponding groove in the interior circumference of the upper part of the Watch case. The portion of the interior circumference of the upper part of the watch case which lies below the circumferential groove is conically sloped towards the bottom. The ring carrying the movement is designed elastically. To accomplish this purpose it is provided for the greater part of its height with several vertical slits. The top part of the cross section of the carrying ring is shaped rectangularly and on the annular bed obtained that way is disopsed the movement with its flange and the dial. The lower part of the carrying ring is provided with an outwardly projecting circumferential rim permitting a removing tool to be used thereon. The exterior diameter of the circumferential rim is somewhat smaller than the interior diameter of the backs upstanding wall, and these two parts overlap each other in depth.

By way of example, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a longitudinal section of a watch case without movement;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a movements carrying ring;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged radial section through the border portion of a watch case with movement and dial put in.

The waterand dustproof watch case comprises an upper part a, a bezel b cut therein and contracted about a crystal c, and a back u. Below an annular supporting flange d projecting towards the inside of the case a a circumferential groove 2 of semicircular cross section is provided. The lower portion 1 of the interior circumference of the upper part of the watch case a is conically enlarged towards the back. A ring g carrying a movement I and having an outwardly projecting circumferential flange h of solid semicircular cross section tightly fits into the circumferential groove e. The movement of the carrying ring g into this tight fitting relation is facilitated by the conical portion f of the interior circumference of the case a, by the semicircular shape of the flange h of the ring g, and by a suitable elastic design of the latter. For this reason the ring g is provided with vertical slits i at several points of its circumference and for the larger part of its height, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The upper portion of the carrying ring g is shaped rectangularly, and the annular bed formed that way assures a suitable fitting of the supporting flange k and the dial m of the movement I in a countersunk manner, and thereby the possibility of keeping the watch case to a minimum thickness.

In the interior circumference of the lower portion of the carrying ring g there are provided two oppositely arranged cylindrical segments n adapted to receive the head 0 of a screw 2 and to secure thereby the movement I in vertical direction.

The movement I is secured in horizontal direction by means of a slight pressure on the circumference of the base of said movement applied by the portions of the circumference provided by the slits i in the ring g which are alternately bent radially towards the inside.

The carrying ring g of the movement I is provided with an outwardly projecting circumferential rim q adapted to serve as a grasp for a removing tool in order to facilitate the removal of the ring g from the circumferential groove e together with its movement I and the dial m.

The upper part of the watch case a is provided with an interior thread r set back below the conically sloped portion 1. Below and set back against said thread r a circumferential groove s is disposed which forms a bed for a packing ring I. The upper part of the watch case a is closed by the back u which is provided with an exterior thread w at its upper wall portion v to be screwed into the interior thread r; apart from that the back it is provided with a projecting circumferential rim x which covers the packing ring 1.

The exterior diameter of the projecting rim q of the ring g is somewhat smaller than the interior diameter of the wall v of the back a. Said parts being laterally shifted against one another overlap each other in depth, which results in a comparatively fiat watch case.

This new design of the watch case, according to the invention, has the following advantages:

Due to the particular method of fitting the carrying ring g of the movement 1 into the upper part of the case a, it is not necessary to support the ring g and with it the movement and the dial by means of the back 14 of the watch case. The back it has no contact at all neither with the carrying ring g nor with the movement so that any pressure exerted against the back will remain without influence on the movement, and the back it can not take the carrying ring g with it when being screwed itno the upper part of the watch case a. In this way any jamming of the winding axle at the point where it passes through the watch case is eliminated. The movement I cannot fall out of the upper part a of the watch case and be damaged when the winding axle and the back u are removed, since the carrying ring g still fits into the circumferential groove e of the upper part of the case a. Due to the elastic design of the carrying ring g of the movement any shocks and pressure exerted against the upper part of the case are absorbed and have no harmful effect on the movement I and its operation.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believed that the construction will at once be apparent, and while there is herein shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

1 claim:

In a waterproof, shockproof and dustproof watch case, an annular upper part forming a body, said body having an upper face provided with an inwardly extending flange grooved to constitute a bezel for engagement by a crystal,

said body having an internal groove extending therearound and spaced slightly below said flange; in combination with a movement supporting ring having a cylindrical body portion, a ring flange extending outwardly from the upper part of said body portion, and a terminal rib on the outer edge of said flange having a rounded outer face adapted to engage said internal groove, the ring flange, terminal rib and the upper portion of said cylindrical body portion being provided with slots extending diagonally through their arcuate formation, said slots providing resilient chorded ring segments capable of absorbing lateral shocks transmitted through said watch case and ring to the movement supported by said ring,

means to hold said movement in said ring, and means to close the lower opening of the watch case.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,543,444 Krabbe June 23, 1925 1,633,351 Sonnenthal June 21, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS 363,877 France Mar. 6, 1906 43,205 Switzerland Apr. 6, 1908 121,029 Great Britain Dec. 5, 1918 259,168 Switzerland Jan. 15, 1949 

